China is a new and largely untapped marketplace with over a billion potential gamers. It offers a huge opportunity to Ukie members. However, operating successfully in China depends on early analysis, and in some cases registration, of key intellectual property (IP) rights.
Many people have an outdated belief that the Chinese IP system does not protect foreign businesses. This is not the case. Between 2006 and 2012, there were over 3,000 IP claims brought in China by local and foreign companies in the entertainment industry (a broad category which would include gaming). 85% of these cases resulted in a successful result for the claimant (i.e. an injunction to restrain further infringement and in some cases damages).
China has an international standard IP system with very similar rights to those available in Europe and the US. The administration of some of these rights is not always that straightforward but over the last decade or so there has been a general trend toward improv
